“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”: Human rights implications of witch-hunts against women in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper examined the human rights implications of witch-hunts perpetrated against women in selected areas of South Africa and Zimbalnue. Historically, witch-hunts have been gender-based with large numbers of victims being womeu. Thus the gender dimension of the problem was carefully explored. The primary motivation for the study was to address the lack of updated laws and scholarly legal writing on witch-hunting related crimes. The study used 78 respondents in Zimbabwe and 68 respondents in South Africa. Literature review, fieldwork, black-letter law, senzi-stmctured interviews and case studies formed the basis of the research methodology employed. The study findings revealed that there is a long way to go before a semblance of gender equality is reached. It is acknowledged that the issue of witch-hzmting requires a holistic approach involving multiple stakeholders to make contributions in addressing this multidimensional phenomenon. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF STUDY A witch has been defined as a 'woman who is believed to have magical powers, especially to do evil things.' In Western folklore, she usually wears a black pointed hat and flies on a broom-stick (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 2006). Down history, witchhunts have been seen as gender specific, with a large percentage of victims being elderly and solitary women (Alliance SA Review, 2007). This is why the word 'witch' itself has a feminine connotation. The masculine equivalent of a witch is wizard, a term which does not seem to conjure any evil suggestion. These witch-hunts and witch killings are not unique to Africa. They have been known to occur in Asia, America, Europe and Australia, and such killings generally follow a similar pattern (Levack, 1995: 1613, 1641). Witchcraft accusations in these places • Address for Communication: Stewart Kugara is post-doctoral scholar, University of Venda. The Oriental Anthropologist, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2016, Pages 399-416 © OICSR, Allahabad Corresponding Author E-mail: skugara@gmail.com 400 Kugara Stewart Lee are not restricted to elderly women but in periods of economic crisis, even young children have reportedly become common culprits (British Broadcast Corporation Online News, 2003) and many have been kicked out of their homes or killed by family members following household calamities and negative income shocks. The laws of South Africa and Zimbabwe uphold the position that witch beliefs and practices are not based on fact and are archaic hence, such beliefs are regarded as unreasonable. In Africa, the belief in witchcraft is strong, common and widespread. It is deeply entrenched in the psyche and consciousness of many African people. This belief has been in existence before the advent of colonialism on the continent. In African countries, this belief is cemented in popular mentality and informs and underscores social, politital and cultural practices (South Africa Pagan Alliance, 2010). These beliefs distinctively depict the opinion that witchcraft is evil and that alleged 'witches' are to blame for misfortune, disease, accidents, natural disasters and death (Aguilar, 2006). 'Witch-hunts' have over the years become a common phenomenon in Africa (Baco, 2005). Witch-hunting is the undertaking of punitive expeditions by vigilantes or selfappointed witch-finders, often leading to the murder of the accused persons and the confiscation of their properties. Naturally, these witch-hunts have courted legal controversy. This is partly because there is no comprehensive legislative instrument directly addressing or dealing with the practice of witch-hunting. The existing Witchcraft Suppression Acts (South African Witchcraft Suppression Acts of 1957, 1970, 1997 and 1999; and the Zimbabwe Witchcraft Suppression Acts of 1899, 2006) are archaic and have been labeled unfair legislations by traditional courts because they do not castigate witches but those who accuse others as witches and wizards. In addition, the Acts clearly displayed the entire practice of witchcraft as a charade and a phenomenon which is not in existence. That is why in the provir:ons of these Acts witchcraft was denoted as the 'so called witchcraft.' From time immemorial, witch-hunts have been seen as gender specific, with a large percentage of victims being elderly and solitary women. For instance, the word "witch" itself has a feminine cOimotation, and its masculine equivalent is wizard, a term which does not seem to conjure any evil connotation. More so, one wonders why it is not 'wizard-craft, wizard-hunting, Wizard-craft Act and wizard-craft-related violence.' Reports and more researches however show that this evil act is practiced by both women and men of all ages (Levack, 1995). However, the atrocities are mainly perpetrated against women as community members perceive women to be 'witches.' Many dogmas, views and theories have been propounded over the years to feed communities that witches are women. The practice of witchcraft finger-pointing is established on hearsay and speculation. Those violently targeted in the course of these guesswork accusations The Oriental Anthropologist "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live": 401 Human rights implications of witch-hunts against women in South Africa and Zimbabwe mostly belong to the most vulnerable groups in society: the elderly and women (Stepping Stones Report, 2012). Given the fact that the belief in witchcraft permeates all levels of society and is intensified by ambiguous or archaic traditional practices, the victims are left helpless by the legal system and the very people that are empowered to shield them the police. LITERATURE: GENDER BIAS AND WITCHCRAFT ACCUSATIONS Now that a picture of witchcraft and witch-hunting has been introduced, the researcher therefore proceeds to examine this factor; why women are more often accused of practicing witchcraft than men. This is to help us to examine and assess the legislation and policy relating to the witchcraft phenomenon. For some time now, witches have been stereotypically believed to be females; generally elderly, full of wrinkles and poor (Kgatla, 2004). Women are beyond doubt the recurrent targets of witchcraft accusations and witch-hunts (Ludsin, 2003). Even though some cases have shown that men also practice witchcraft, females are viewed as the most dominant figures and little girls are strongly believed to succeed to their mothers' or grandmothers' witch powers (Ludsin, 2003: 80). It is further believed that women learn witchcraft in adulthood from their mothers-in-law (Robert, 1963). Exodus 22:18 states the following: "Any woman using unnatural powers or secret arts is to be put to death (Bible in Basic English Version)." In the same vein, the New Kings James Bible says: 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' Barnes' commentary interprets these verses as follows; if you allow the woman witch to live it means you will persist to suffer but for you to live then the woman witch must die. The main focus of witch-hunts has thus been on female witches. Writing as late as 2012, Levack (2012:3) observed that the relationship between women and witchcraft is quite obvious: witches were women; all women were potential witches. Sperry (2001: 24) asserts that the spiritual dimension of humans is central to human experiences (namely social, psychological and moral). Furthermore, he stresses that the spiritual dimension may or may not include any formal affiliation with a religious tradition but it reflects the beliefs, effects and behaviours associated with the basic spiritual need for self-transcendence. In that vein, the spread of witchcraft belief and practices have often been attributed to religious reasons. For instance, during the notorious Salem witch-hunts, almost all aspects of livelihood revolved around the church. In 1484 the 'Hammer for Witches' became the guidebook for identifying, trying and sentencing presumed witches (PaulS, 1977: 1-31). Some churches have also been on the lead in propagating teachings that have exacerbated the issue of gender disparity and sown a seed that women are evil. Dr. The Oriental Anthropologist 402 Kugara Stewart Lee Wagner (1997: 304) who wrote about pastor Branham's teachings that have and still raise a bone of contention with regards to women; Branham once said: "Every time that a funeral goes down the street, a woman caused it...Everything that's wrong, a woman caused it. And then put her head of the church ... shame on her." In addition to the above teachings, this stereotype of women as witches has its own roots in the Aristotelian view of women as imperfect and the Judea-Christian creed that women are the origin of sin and the fall of men. Women have also been said to possess the tendency to use hurtful words in situations of personal confrontation when men would resort to physical violence. The culture which attributed magical efficacy to verbal curses made accusations of witchcraft easier. It has also been suggested that the majority of witchcraft accusations documented in Scotland in 2008 were triggered by quarrels about women's work and household duties (Zahradni~ek, 2006). Quarrels about women's work were the backbone of evidence used by prosecutors to demonise women of their productive and social roles within society, Goodare (2002: 88). Some anthropological studies have also advanced the view that women are more likely to be targets of witchcraft accusations because of what is considered the typically poor and often jealous relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law (Parrinder, 1963). Another view is that women may be targeted as witches because of the cultural practice of polygamy. Having multiple wives creates the possibility that one wife will accuse another of witchcraft (Parrinder, 1963). Similarly, the cultural practice of bringing women from their fathers' families into their husbands' homes leaves them vulnerable to attacks on their loyalty to their new family (Gluck